After frequent and intentional damage to the wooden bridge across the Bistrica River in the immediate vicinity of the Monastery of Visoki Decanidone by local Albanians coming to the river for recreation, members of the Italian KFOR contingent with the help of members of engineering unit from Argentina have decided to repair the bridge at their own expense. The bridge is of vital importance to the monks who have been crossing the river for hundreds of years to bring mineral drinking water from a nearby spring.

On August 25, 2001, the bridge was reopened to traffic and a small ceremony was held which was attended by the Bishop of Raska and Prizren, Artemije, the commander of Multinational Brigade West, Brigadier General Vincenzo Lops, and other representatives of KFOR and the UN mission. Bishop Artemije emphasized that "rivers divide people but bridges bring them together and connect them, and this project by Italian and Argentinean troops represents a friendly gesture of good will which builds better relations between communities in Kosovo and Metohija". The bridge was symbolically given the Latin name PONS VITAE, which means "the Bridge of Life" because water gives life. The name is also reminiscent of the famous architect of the Decani church, master Vita Kotoranin.